The elections results roll in...
We’re opening up a brand-new liveblog for up-to-the-second updates on tonight’s election results, but before you jump to the latest returns, here were some of today’s highlights as tens of millions of Americans made their way to the polls:
- Donald Trump’s campaign filed a lawsuit in Nevada state court over the Clark County voter registrar’s decision to keep polling locations open “two hours beyond the designated closing time” to accommodate those who were forced to wait in line for hours to cast early-voting ballots. According to CNN, the Trump campaign’s legal team filed for relief in case “the election of presidential electors from the State of Nevada is contested.”
- “This action is to preserve the status quo so that, if the election of presidential electors from the State of Nevada is contested, the candidates and courts may redress egregious violations of Nevada election law perpetrated by the Registrar on November 4, 2016,” the lawsuit reads. “The Registrar’s violations were not random and neutral in their effect, but very much appear to have been intentionally coordinated with Democratic activists in order to skew the vote unlawfully in favor of Democratic candidates.”
- Hillary Clinton cast her historic vote for president at her home precinct in Chappaqua, New York, calling it “the most humbling feeling... because I know how much responsibility goes with this and so many people are counting on the outcome of this election, what it means for our country and I will do the very best I can if I’m fortunate enough to win today.”
- Speaking on Fox & Friends by phone this morning - as is his custom - Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump lashed out at pollsters who show him narrowly but consistently behind Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, alleging that most polls “just put out phony numbers”:
I do think this, after the debates, I think my numbers really started to go up well. And then I did a series over the last two weeks, only of you know, really important speeches I think. 20,000, 25,000 people, 31,000 people were showing up to these speeches.”
Bush 43 spox confirms to @CBSNews that Bush and his wife Laura left their presidential ballots blank, voted Republican in downballot races.
— Emily Schultheis (@emilyrs) November 8, 2016
Now get thee to the election results!
Preliminary exit polling data is out and some of it reinforces the information we already had. Many voters have a negative view of the candidates - one in five Clinton voters said they chiefly oppose the other candidate, and 27% of Trump supporters said the same.
Crucially, turnout rates among Republicans, Democrats and Independents look like they’ll be comparable to 2012 based on this very early information. If current polling predictions hold true and turnout rates remain relatively consistent, that could work in Clinton’s favor.
About 90% Hispanic and on the border with Mexico, the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas was never going to be fertile ground for Donald Trump. Still, some of his small group of supporters tried to make their voices heardon Tuesday afternoon, as a few traded chants and barbs with a bigger group of Hillary Clinton backers across a busy road in the city of McAllen, Texas.
Sporting a red “Make America Great Again” baseball cap, Adrian Garza arrived in an SUV with “Hillary 4 Prison” scrawled in white paint on a window.
“I was born in Mexico, I know what he’s talking about. I was naturalized when Bill Clinton was president, I did it correctly,” said the 50-year-old truck driver. “I support Trump because I got his message at the beginning - a message of something being corrected in immigration. The law has not been enforced the way it should.”
Travelling around town, Garza said, his visible support of Trump has led to some strangers “yelling at me or even flipping the finger at me. I don’t mind. I’d love to talk to every single one of them so I could tell them why Trump is the right person.”
Garza said that Trump’s business acumen would help him follow through on his pledge to build a gigantic border wall and make Mexico pay for it. “I hope he wins. I’m praying that he does because it’s our last shot, like he says. If he doesn’t win, I think this country’s going to get worse. More terrorism will happen, jobs won’t come back,” he said.
Lalo Martinez wore a T-shirt with an image of Trump and the slogan “WASHINGTON DC YOU’RE FIRED”. The 42-year-old, while optimistic on a national level, was under no illusions about his favoured candidate’s local prospects. “Down here you could be the Pope and you would still lose if you’re Republican,” he said.
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UPDATE: A suit has just been filed with a superior court in North Carolina calling for an emergency order to force the state board of election to keep the Durham County polling places open until 9pm tonight. Voting has been severely disrupted there by a county-wide failure of voting machines, and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice that has brought the lawsuit says that polling times should be extended to make up for that.
If the suit is successful that could push back the outcome of the North Carolina vote which is hotly contested by Clinton and Trump late into the evening.
Live results from tonight's election returns
Want to watch an 8-bit Hillary Clinton paint Pennsylvania blue? Hoping for a computerized Donald Trump to wipe Wisconsin red?
We’ve got you covered tonight, in real time.
Nigel Farage: Donald Trump represents same 'change' as Brexit
The former Ukip chief has not officially endorsed Donald Trump, but he has appeared with him on a few occasions.
Enjoyed speaking to @Varneyco earlier. @realDonaldTrump represents change in this election just as Leave did in the EU referendum. #Brexit pic.twitter.com/801SigGfyC
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) November 8, 2016
Local news stations are reporting that Colorado’s statewide voter registration systems are down. Colorado is a same-day registration state, which means that for those who are arriving at their polling stations with the intent to register and vote, they are being provided with provisional ballots.
#Breaking: Statewide election systems down in Colorado, delaying voters. Been down roughly 15 minutes. Officials working to restore systems.
— Denver7 News (@DenverChannel) November 8, 2016
Lindsey Graham casts vote for third-party candidate
I voted @Evan_McMullin for President. I appreciate his views on a strong America and the need to rebuild our military. #3
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) November 8, 2016
Voting rights experts who are monitoring the election across the country are continuing to report a slew of problems, from long lines to faulty technology and sporadic reports of intimidation.
I’ve just spoken to Myrna Perez of the Brennan Center for Justice that is part of a coalition of groups working to protect the vote today. They run a hotline - 866-OUR-VOTE – which has received thousands of complaints from voters running into difficulties.
North Carolina, one of the most sensitive swing states that both Clinton and Trump have poured resources into winning, has been particularly troubled today by voting machines breaking down and electronic polling books seizing up. There’s no suggestion of foul play here, but it has complicated an already tense election day.
Texas is a story of more willful trouble. The Republican-controlled legislatures efforts to introduce one of the strictest forms of photo-ID requirements in the country has led to widespread confusion, Perez said.
The coalition has found numerous cases of signs being posted on the walls of polling stations that incorrectly inform voters about Texas’ photo-ID criteria.
Many complaints have come in about alleged intimidation of voters outside polling stations from a number of states. “We’ve certainly heard from voters complaining about this, though it’s going to be very hard to tell how organized it was. It’s too early to tell whether it was an individual action or something more planned.”
One development that Perez said would have to be reviewed after the dust has settled from this election was the proliferation of poll watchers. The 2016 election cycle, given the degree of suspicion around, had spawned the surreal phenomenon of poll watchers observing voters and then poll monitors watching them.
“We are creating a culture of multiple layers of people observing each other, which produces it’s own challenges. We’ve got to a place where poll watchers watch watchers watching watchers.”
Spokesperson: George W. Bush and Laura Bush left presidential ballots blank
Bush 43 spox confirms to @CBSNews that Bush and his wife Laura left their presidential ballots blank, voted Republican in downballot races.
— Emily Schultheis (@emilyrs) November 8, 2016
Somewhere in New York, a baker is tenting their fingers and laughing maniacally.
This is the official Trump-cake for the official Trump-party - escorted by the Secret Service! @BILD #ElectionDay #Elections2016 pic.twitter.com/ETxS11cpNS
— Kai Diekmann (@KaiDiekmann) November 8, 2016
And in other food-related news, in the Trump campaign’s victory party at the Midtown Hilton, the bar is cash-only.
They built a cash bar at Trump election night party-- and his supporters are going to pay for it. pic.twitter.com/X18u0HieSN
— Dana Milbank (@Milbank) November 8, 2016
Hillary Clinton and her family will watch tonight’s election returns at the Peninsula, a very fancy hotel in Midtown Manhattan that is a mere two-minute walk away from Trump Tower, where Donald Trump will be watching with his family.
Hillary Clinton will be watching tonight's election results a two-minute walk away from Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/mSv7PW33Cq
— Scott Bixby (@scottbix) November 8, 2016
From the Guardian’s Sabrina Siddiqui, who is part of Hillary Clinton’s press pool tonight:
Clinton’s motorcade departed her home in Chappaqua at 4:48 p.m. en route to New York City. Your pooler did not spot Clinton, as we were already loaded in the vans and joined the motorcade as it was rolling.
The cake is a guy.
A Donald Trump cake being wheeled into Trump Tower @abc #ElectionDay pic.twitter.com/HSkHChfUSA
— Jason Volack (@jasonvolack) November 8, 2016
Florida’s “bluest” county, the Democratic Party stronghold of Broward, delivered potentially good news for Hillary Clinton less than three hours before the polls closed. At 4.30pm, Brenda Snipes, the county’s supervisor of elections, reported that more than 170,000 people had already voted in person today, added to the 622,000 that had already cast ballots in early voting. It means that more than 790,000 votes are in from a total county electorate of almost 1.2 million. Or about 66% so far.
This is not one of those #ElectionDay "intimidating vehicles" allegedly putting off voters in Florida. These guys want you to vote! pic.twitter.com/ncKU90UZT5
— Richard Luscombe (@richlusc) November 8, 2016
With a high turnout seen as the key to the Clinton campaign, the Democratic nominee needs to rack up the tally in heavily populated Broward and Miami-Dade counties to counter the advantage Donald Trump holds in Florida’s more rural northern counties. The turnout in Broward in 2012 was 67%.
With a clear, low-humidity day in South Florida, voters are turning out steadily, and lines are moving smoothly. However, Snipes fired two poll clerks at a site in Pompano Beach following a dispute over where people could stand. Broward sheriff’s deputies were called to the polling station but no arrests were made during an incident a spokesperson described as “minor”.
The first early exit polls are coming out and they show that most of those who have voted aren’t feeling overjoyed. After a presidential race characterized by surprises and uncertainty, 71% say they are feeling nervous according to a Morning Consult/POLITICO Exit Poll which was conducted October 18-November 8 among 6,782 early and Election-Day voters. Another 85% said they “just want it to be over” and 39% said they were depressed.
The fact that only 25% of those surveyed said they were feeling “happy” while 53% said they were “angry” could well affect the mood of the country long after the final results are counted.
The most accurate exit poll available to us:
❤️Heart for Hillary or retweet for Trump!
— Lindsay Lohan (@lindsaylohan) November 8, 2016
Iconic suffragette Susan B. Anthony’s gravesite in Rochester, New York, has become a place of pilgrimage for hundreds of voters celebrating the potential election of the nation’s first female president.
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Esther Diamond, born before women had right to vote: 'You can’t throw away an opportunity to be listened to'
Esther Diamond doesn’t like people who don’t vote. “Voting is a privilege,” she reminds me, as we sit in her apartment in Queens, New York. “People have died for it. You can’t throw away an opportunity to be listened to.”
Diamond knows what that feels like. She was born in January 1920, months before the final state ratified the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. Now, the 96-year-old, who immigrated to America from Russia as a child, is looking forward to voting for a woman herself. “I’ve hoped for a long time that this day would come,” she says.
Diamond is just one of many women born before the 19thAmendment profiled on the website iwaited96years.com: different women from different backgrounds sharing the same excitement about this historic moment. In a lifetime they’ve gone from being disenfranchised because of their sex to casting a vote for, potentially, the first female President of the United States.
There’s Eugenia Perkins, 102, in North Carolina: “It is about time there was a woman President!”
There’s Lung Hsin Wu, 98, in Oregon, by way of Beijing: “My vote means another step towards equity for women!”
And there’s Diamond, who says: “Since as long as I can remember…I don’t want to be better than men. I want to be equal to them. You’re a second-class citizen if you’re not.”
Women’s rights have progressed a lot in Diamond’s lifetime, but there’s still a way to go. “When you hear the difference in salaries between men and woman for the same job and the men get more than you do…” she shakes her head. “Maybe Hillary can help.”
Diamond has been doing as much campaigning as she can for Clinton. When her assisted living facility had early voting a couple of weeks ago she got a placard of Hillary made up “sat 50 feet away from the voting booth” doing last minute electioneering.
Diamond thinks the final result will be close. But whether Clinton wins or not, “she’s opened the door for future women to think about running and that’s important. I’m sure there will be others, maybe not in my lifetime. You just need one person to try the water. Maybe my great granddaughter will be President.”
Missing from the invite list: Tiffany Trump.
I will be watching the election results from Trump Tower in Manhattan with my family and friends. Very exciting!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 8, 2016
Donald Trump may not have had any celebrities appearing his behalf on Monday night – but he told a crowd of more than 10,000 that he was backed by the New England Patriots star quarterback, Tom Brady, and their head coach, Bill Belichick.
In a local interview earlier on Monday, though, Brady said he hadn’t voted yet – “I am going to vote today or tomorrow” – and played coy on who he might vote for: “Next week I’ll tell you.”
Speaking in Manchester, New Hampshire, in an arena lit with laser lights and smoke machines, the Republican nominee took the stage in his penultimate event before election day to announce the support of two of the most beloved sports figures in New England.
Trump has long bragged that Brady, a two-time NFL MVP and four time Super Bowl champion, “is a great friend of mine”. Brady was suspended for four games at the start of the 2016 season for his role in the Deflategate scandal.
The Republican nominee told the cheering crowd on Monday night that Brady called him earlier in the day to say: “Donald, I support you. You’re my friend and I voted for you.”
The quarterback was photographed in 2015 with a Make America Great Again hat in his locker. Brady also said in an interview in December 2015: “Donald is a good friend of mine. I have known him for a long time. I support all my friends.” However, Brady’s wife, Gisele Bundchen, last week denied that the couple would vote for Trump in a comment on her Instagram page.
A man in the city of East Lansing, Michigan, pulled two women wearing hijabs out of line to check their IDs early this morning and attempted to prevent them from voting, officials said.
Joumana Ahmed, 54, a Dearborn mother of four, voted for Clinton. "I usually vote Republican," she said. "But not this year." #ElectionDay pic.twitter.com/GjPx276vQ8
— Ryan Felton (@RyanFelton13) November 8, 2016
Ingham County clerk Barb Byrum confirmed the incident was reported to her office, which oversees East Lansing, at 7.53am this morning, in what she described as an act of voter intimidation.
According to the complaint received by Byrum’s office, the man pulled two women wearing hijabs out of line to check their voter registration cards.
“It appeared he was trying to direct them to another polling place, which may or may not have been justified,” the complaint from an East Lansing resident said, adding in an email to Mother Jones that the man “seemed polite and non-confrontational.”
The resident, Ron Fox, reported the incident to poll workers, and the man was soon asked to leave. Byrum told the Guardian she contacted the East Lansing clerk, who in turn contacted law enforcement.
“This was the procedure that was established a week or so ago in the event there was any event or voter intimidation or harassment,” she said.
“I have zero tolerance for the harassment or intimidation of my voters.” Byrum said she has received no additional reports of voter intimidation, as of4pm.
East Lansing is located about 90 miles west of Detroit.
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Bernie Sanders casts his vote:
“It’s kind of a special day,” Vermont senator Bernie Sanders said after he cast his vote for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in his hometown of Burlington, Vermont.
“When I’m on the ballot, Jane and I usually drive around the state to kill some time and wait for the results to come in, but we have a beautiful day today. I hope we have a very large voter turnout,” Sanders said.
“I hope today we defeat Donald Trump and we defeat him badly,” Sanders continued. “I think when you have a campaign like Mr. Trump’s where the cornerstone of his campaign is based on bigotry and trying to divide us up, I think it’s very bad for our country.”
High school students in Phoenix, Arizona, may not yet be able to vote for president, but that hasn’t kept hundreds of them from staging walkouts from Phoenix-area high schools to urge voting-age members of their communities to vote tonight.
Student leader at North - even if we can't vote, we know that Joe Arpaio has got to go! #BaztaArpaio #StudentsvsArpaio pic.twitter.com/FPRttkww6Z
— Bazta Arpaio (@BaztaArpaio) November 8, 2016
Many of them are motivated by the first real chance in years to vote out Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio, a virulently anti-immigration conservative who may face the first real threat to his reign following a contempt-of-court charge.
For those just joining us, a scene from the pre-dawn twilight in New Jersey:
Best headline of the campaign. pic.twitter.com/w5vqeQMKrw
— Scott Bixby (@scottbix) November 8, 2016
#ImWithHer
I've been told a few times I should run for President, but I think there are enough boobs in the race already ;) #ElectionDay
— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) November 8, 2016
What would it take to break the Javits Center's glass ceiling?
Tonight, in a rather symbolic move, Hillary Clinton will be holding her election night party at the Javits Center in New York City, where she’ll make her speech from beneath its famous glass ceiling.
So what would it actually take to make a crack in it? We did some research and spoke to Nancy Czesak, the co-director on the Javits renovation project, to find out more about this iconic venue.
- Over 6,000 glass panels make up the glass ceiling: 3,722 for the curtain wall and 2,400 for skylights
- There were about 100 people involved in the installation
- Each glass panel weighs about 500lbs
- Though Czesak emphasized that the glass isn’t intended to break, it was engineered to withstand an impact of a 9lb object traveling 100 mph.
- Height of glass structure: 15 stories
- Czesak, who led the project, said it was uncommon at the time to have a woman lead such a construction project
- Fun fact: the new glass panels are imprinted with a dot pattern to prevent bird crashes
- Earlier this year, New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced a $1bn expansion project for the Javits
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As voters cast their ballots nationwide, news broke that the Trump campaign on Monday filed a 100-page lawsuit claiming Clark County, Nevada permitted illegal early voting.
In the suit, the campaign requested ballots and records tied to four polling stations be impounded and segregated.
Nevada judge Gloria Sturman denied the request in a hearing on Tuesday, where she expressed puzzlement about the intentions and details of the lawsuit. “Aren’t we missing about seven steps in this process?” Sturman asked an attorney for the Trump campaign in Nevada.
The lawsuit asked Joe Gloria, the Clark County Registrar of Voters, to preserve the early voting records in Clark County. The state is already required to preserve these records by law. “I can’t obligate him to do something he’s already obligated to do,” Sturman said.
Sturman also expressed concern about the Trump campaign’s interest in having the names of people who worked at the four polling stations. She said the information, if provided, would be entered in the public record and could lead to harassment. “It’s disturbing to me to think those individuals might be harassed,” she said.
Sturman continued: “Do you watch Twitter? Have you watched any cable news show?”
The Trump campaign insisted the information is necessary to prove no illegal voting took place.
“I’m not going to issue any order,” Sturman said. “I’m just not going to do it”.
The campaign can appeal Sturman’s decision to Nevada’s state supreme court.
In an interview today on Fox News with Martha MacCallum, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said that “hopefully” he won’t be put in a position where he’ll feel the need to contest the election, but that some cities with are “as corrupt as can be.”
“We’re going to see how things play out today and hopefully they will play out well and hopefully we won’t have to worry about it,” Trump said. “Hopefully we will win but we’re going to see how they play out and I want to see everything honest. If you look at Philadelphia, if you look at St. Louis, if you look at Chicago. President Obama eight years ago was quoted as saying essentially that it is as corrupt as can be, the polling booths in Chicago.”
Trump cited baseless “reports” - frequently an interview tactic in which Trump makes assertions without evidence - that voters’ ballots are being switched.
“I’m saying you have to look at what’s happening,” Trump said. “I have to look at reports that are coming out. There are reports that when people vote for Republicans the entire ticket switches over to Democrats. You’ve seen that. It’s happening at various places today it has been reported. In other words, the machines you put down a Republican and it registers as a Democrat. They’ve had a lot of complaints about that today. You have to be careful we have to see what it is.”
If he loses, Trump said, he may not go quietly into the night.
“I’ll have to see under what circumstances,” Trump said. “I want everything to be really, really smooth and really, really good. I understand the importance of that. I was very good in history. Frankly, I fully understand it is very important in so many different ways. I’ve been using the word long before Bernie Sanders ever used it, I guess they all got it from me. I was talking about his situation, I was talking about other situations. It’s largely a rigged system and you see it at the polling booths too.”
On his message to his supporters if he loses the election tonight:
“I think they would be very disappointed. They are the forgotten men and women. I think it would be very disappointing to those women and those men and those families because they are tremendous families. They built the country to a large extent.”
Updated
Today is the first time in the 240 year history of the United States that voters have the opportunity to elect a woman as their president. Will Hillary break through the glass ceiling? Readers have been telling us what having a female president would mean to them.
Hopeful for Hillary: Enterprising Man Sells Clinton Buttons in Flatbush, Brooklyn.
In line for over three hours, this energetic and hopeful man sold buttons for Hillary Clinton. I bought one that said "Women For Clinton" that features Rosie the Riveter.
Mal Hartigan, a 24-year-old from Kansas City, Missouri, is proud to have voted for the first female president:
Missouri consistently votes conservatively in presidential elections, but I refuse to be apathetic about Hillary’s chances here this year. I was pleasantly surprised to only wait about 15 minutes in line, and I am so grateful for the friendly attitudes and efficiency of the volunteers. The voting process went smoothly, and regardless of how long anyone has to wait in line, I encourage you to vote. Quite frankly, there is too much at stake in this election. My girlfriend and I are going to order takeout and watch the election results tonight... Regardless of which candidate wins Missouri this year, I’m proud to say I cast my ballot to promote a better political future for myself as a young adult, and a better future for all Americans.
Steve Pearcy from Manassas, Virginia says his mom would have liked to have seen today:
When my mom and dad were born, a woman couldn’t vote in the US. A black man theoretically could vote, but his right to do so was usually denied, usually, alas, by Democrats in the south. Folks from poor backgrounds like my folks didn’t really have much chance of going to college to change their lot in life. If someone without money got seriously ill, they usually died, like my grand-uncle’s young wife and their two-year old child in the flu epidemic of 1918.
A little over 40 years later when I was born, a woman could vote in the US. Barriers to black folk voting would be torn down a few years later with the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, laws pushed through by more visionary Democrats. A few years later Medicare and Medicaid programs were enacted by Democrats so people without means had access to health care. A woman and man of different races could not marry in many states of the US. My father, who grew up on a tenant farm in Missouri, went to college after World War II with the GI Bill. My brother would go to college a few years after I was born, my mother would get her degree 14 years after I was born, and from an early age I just assumed I’d go to college. As a kid, my grandmother used to say with pride, “I’m a Baptist and a Democrat,” and my parents took me to vote and see them vote for Democrats because the Democratic party tried to help all people, not just the rich.
A little over 40 years after I was born, I sat with my parents and cheered and cried as we watched as Barack Obama, the son of a white woman and a black man, was nominated to be the Democratic candidate for president. Unfortunately there were and still are folk who try to keep people of color from voting, but such efforts have the boom-a-rang effect of making people more determined to vote. More and more people in the United States are getting the chance to go to college. The Affordable Care Act enacted by Democrats provides access to health care to millions who did not have access before. People of all races can marry anyone who they wish. The country continues to try to be better with every generation, to try to be a more perfect union.
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Trump cited voting machine malfunctions on CNN on Tuesday afternoon when he again refused to say whether he would concede the election if he lost. Donald Trump told anchor Martha MacCallum he would have to “see reports” and hinted that those reports might contain evidence of fraud.
“There are reports that when someone votes Republican the entire ticket switches over to Democrat,” he said. “It’s the machines.”
There is in fact a single report out of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, that between 5 and 6 machines had malfunctioned and switched a straight-Republican ticket to a straight-Democrat ticket. The problem is a familiar one, and is just as likely to switch votes from Democrat to Republican as otherwise. The board of elections in Lebanon said it had repaired the machines, which were brought to their attention by voters who saw that their vote had been registered incorrectly by the touchscreen voting machine.
“This happens every election,” said Stanford computer science professor David Dill, who has spoken out against voting processes that rely too heavily on technology, especially in the voting booth. “It’s admitted by the local officials, who say they’ve fixed the problem,” Dill said. “Touchscreen machines have a reported problem of vote-flipping. The usual explanation for this is that the machines are calibrated wrong so when you touch it in one place, it registers in another place.”
Jeremy Epstein of research organization SRI, who successfully lobbied to have the insecure WinVote system decertified last year, said the problem was familiar to him. “Sounds like screen alignment problems, which happen on the older [direct-recording electronic voting machines] DREs,” Epstein told the Guardian. “In earlier elections, this was blamed for flipping from D to R in some states.It may well be happening, but this is not a partisan problem, but old equipment.”
Dill concurred. “If you were going to defraud somebody on a voting machine, you wouldn’t tell them what you were doing.”
Other voting problems have been reported, but all appear to be the usual crop of errors in badly-designed machines: glitches that create long lines in historic Democrat stronghold Durham, North Carolina and a glitch in a system in coastal Cartaret County, North Carolina that will force polling place workers to recount paper ballots.
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The Wall Street Journal is also reporting that the live voting data produced by VoteCastr is moving the markets.
The WSJ’s Paul Vigna explains:
It’s a first for traders, and for the news media. It has been a longstanding policy for mainstream media to not report on exit-polling data while polls are still open on Election Day, so as to avoid discouraging voters in western states from voting.
Today, though, websites Vice and Slate plan on providing what they are characterizing as “live” voting projections throughout the day.
To be sure, this is an experiment, and a controversial one. Regardless, the numbers are being put out there, and the market is noticing. With the Slate data showing Hillary Clinton leading in several key swing states, stocks have shot higher and bonds have fallen.
Right now, VoteCastr are giving Clinton a four point lead in the crucial state of Florida, with 48% of support vs Trump’s 44%. If the Democrats do claim Florida, it’s hard to see a Republican victory.
BUT (and it’s a big one), realtime polling forecasts are still somewhat experimental. If early voters aren’t representative of the electorate, then their projections could be skewed, for example.
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It’s quite a scene at Trump Tower today.
On a normal day people can walk in and out easily, but when I was there earlier a row of 10 Department of Sanitation trucks lined the street in front of the building. Behind those was a row of metal barricades, and beyond those a group of heavily armed police officers.
I'm sure we shouldn't read too much into this but there is a row of 10 Sanitation Department trucks outside Trump Towe pic.twitter.com/VKBiirf6LG
— Adam Gabbatt (@adamgabbatt) November 8, 2016
Across the street, directly outside an Abercrombie and Fitch store, a space has been set up specifically for protesters. When I was there this morning was one man in it. His name was Sajid Khan.
“He’s not fit to be mayor even of a small village,” Khan, 67, said of Trump. “And he’s thinking of leading the country.”
Khan had brought two banners to the protest area. One of them was tied to a broom stick with blue rope and had a very length message on the front. It mostly discussed Trump’s mental health. People are actually allowed to go into Trump Tower, if they were prepared to brave the sanitation trucks, metal barricades, and police. And have their bag searched, and walk past a sniffer dog.
Perhaps as a result of those measures, the building was deserted. There were three women working behind the counter at the Starbucks earlier, although there didn’t seem much for them to do. One of the women said she had voted earlier that morning. I asked if she had plumped for Trump.
“I did not,” she said. “I’m not a fan.”
Artist Jeff Koons is #WithHer - possibly because Donald Trump couldn’t afford one of his sculptures.
Complaint filed against Eric Trump over ballot photo
The Democratic Coalition Against Trump, an arm of the anti-Donald Trump Keep America Great PAC, has filed a complaint with the New York State Board of Elections after the Republican presidential nominee’s son, Eric Trump, tweeted out a picture of his filled out ballot.
The tweet has since been deleted, but was a violation of a century-old New York state law that prohibits outside documentation of ballots. The law has been interpreted to include cell-phone shots and selfies.
“Once again the the Trump family has acted like the laws don’t apply to them,” said Scott Dworkin, the coalition’s senior director. “When another celebrity did the same thing, he was vilified by the media. We shouldn’t turn a blind eye to Eric Trump’s serious misstep.”
Speaking on Fox News this afternoon, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said that he’s “going to have to see under what circumstances” he will accept the results of today’s presidential election.
Trump continued, saying that he wants “things to be very smooth,” regarding a transition of power, adding: “I was very good at history.”
Updated
It is 511 days since Donald Trump made immigration a core campaign issue when he declared his candidacy saying that he would make Mexico pay for a “great, great, wall” on the border.
Then, as today, the community center at the Sacred Heart Catholic church in downtown McAllen, Texas, eight miles from the frontier, welcomed mainly central American families detained for making unauthorized border crossings, processed by US authorities and released to join up with relatives elsewhere in the country and await court dates.
Some said today that fear of a Trump presidency had influenced the timing of their decision to flee violence and economic hardship in their home countries.
“There are very high numbers right now, we’re way over 300 a day, sometimes very close to 400 almost. Most definitely more than last year,” said Sister Norma Pimentel, who runs the shelter. “The traffickers cash in on the suffering and the fear of the families back home and they’ll use whatever it is that is present at the time to get them to come. They’re making money from their suffering, and so if right now it’s the election, tomorrow it’s something else.”
“Sí!” said Sandra with a smile when asked if she was familiar with Trump’s bid.
“I’ve heard he’s not going to help the Hispanics,” the 35-year-old from Guatemala said. She had travelled for 22 days with her two boys, aged seven and 16. “We are praying to God that he doesn’t win. That’s the big worry for a lot of us here,” she said.
As a drumbeat of rain pattered on the roof of a large tent holding 30 people, 20 of them children, Bialquin’s three-year-old son, wearing a soccer jersey, played with a toy truck. “We heard Trump wants to throw back all the immigrants and build a wall,” said the 21-year-old Guatemalan. She said her main concern was not politics but simply doing her best for her family.
“That’s the biggest worry, that we will be deported if he becomes president,” said Jose, a 41-year-old from Honduras. He lifted up a trouser leg to show a government-issued GPS bracelet around his ankle. “It’s a very good country,” he said, adding a caveat: “If Trump wins, this country will fall into some very bad times.”
He is eager to watch the results tonight, but that may be hard: the bus taking him to join up with cousins in Tennessee leaves at 9.45pm.
Updated
Happy election day from the Guardian’s newsroom! We brought cake.
Guardian news supremo @geordiedav is rightly pleased with his home baked contribution to our newsroom's election night pic.twitter.com/Osc077shlE
— Dan Roberts (@RobertsDan) November 8, 2016
People on the borders in Mexico and Canada have been in touch with their views.
Mexico
Gerardo Ce says Mexicans are following the US elections as if it was one of their own:
People are wanting to know if the peso will be at an exchange of 17 or 25 per dollar by tonight.
Matt’s an American living in Tijuana and commutes across the border:
My Mexican neighbors are paying close attention to the election and have made sure to ask if I have voted. They sit out on the porch to discuss the election and are very well informed on the candidates and issues.
And Tom Webster thinks it’s all a waste of time:
People hate Trump, and they hate Clinton. Stein and Johnson are just as useless. The American people will turn out and vote for the candidate that will keep the other main one out... What a waste of time. No one wins regardless of which candidate wins.
Canada
Rick Stackhouse from Canada said:
Considering most Canadians live within 500 kilometres of the US/Canada Border, very fidgety today. It’s hard to believe, out of 319 million people, these two are the best they could put forward.
Jean V says she’s just so tired of it all:
I pray that Trump does not win but none of us up here are really convinced. Terrified to think what would happen if he does.
And Sam thinks it’s a shame Canadians can’t vote:
The entire family is surprised it’s come down to the line like it has. And coming from a right-leaning backwater swamp, the support for conservative candidates probably shouldn’t be surprising. If Canadians could vote in the big show this one would be a vote for Hillary.
Updated
The City of Angels, they call it.
This is the most LA thing ever. Apparently by entering my polling place I'm agreeing to be filmed for something called "Booty Queens" pic.twitter.com/tVDK33VSj2
— Matt Novak (@paleofuture) November 8, 2016
Trump campaign files lawsuit in Nevada over early-voting locations
Donald Trump’s campaign has filed a lawsuit in Nevada state court over the Clark County voter registrar’s decision to keep polling locations open “two hours beyond the designated closing time” to accommodate those who were forced to wait in line for hours to cast early-voting ballots.
According to CNN, the Trump campaign’s legal team filed for relief in case “the election of presidential electors from the State of Nevada is contested.”
“This action is to preserve the status quo so that, if the election of presidential electors from the State of Nevada is contested, the candidates and courts may redress egregious violations of Nevada election law perpetrated by the Registrar on November 4, 2016,” the lawsuit reads. “The Registrar’s violations were not random and neutral in their effect, but very much appear to have been intentionally coordinated with Democratic activists in order to skew the vote unlawfully in favor of Democratic candidates.”
A spokesperson for Clark County told CNN that no voting location hours were extended, and that the county had merely followed standard practice to allow those who had queued up in line by the time polls closed to vote.
Clark County, home to Las Vegas and an enormous Latino population, will likely play a key role in how Nevada’s electoral vote is allocated.
Updated
Iconic suffragette Susan B. Anthony’s grave marker continues to be festooned with “I Voted” stickers on the day that the United States might elect its first female president.
Amazing sight here at Susan B. Anthony gravesite in @rochester #ElectionDay pic.twitter.com/jm9iMYHU55
— John Kucko (@john_kucko) November 8, 2016
At 7am on election day, 70 people were lined up at Polling Site 10559 in New York City.
Above the entrance to the polling site, in giant gold letters, was a name: Trump.
“It’s highly ironic,” said Erin Kelly, who was waiting to cast her ballot. “I’m definitely voting for Clinton.”
Trump Place, the polling site for hundreds of people today, was developed by Trump in the 1990s. There are actually several Trump Places in this part of Manhattan’s upper west side, although some residents of those buildings are campaigning to have his name removed.
“At the point when Trump’s campaign became obviously nasty it went from being an embarrassment having his name on the building, to actually being a reason to have to apologize,” Kelly said.
Not everyone in line was as averse to Trump, however. Slava Hazin, 50, planned to vote for him.
“ABC,” Hazin said of the reason for his vote. “Anyone but Clinton.”
Hazin, a Republican, said he was only reluctantly voting for Trump. He lamented the poor quality of the Republican candidates this year.
“It was the worst line up we’ve ever had,” he said. “I mean, I’ve voted for some Republican duds but this really takes the cake.”
Hazin was with his wife, Karen Hazin, a “lifelong Democrat” who had just voted for Hillary Clinton. She said she had not attempted to convert her husband. “I’ve lived with him for many years. It’s sort of a waste of time,” Hazin said. “And I’ve done my job. My children are Hillary supporters.”
Updated
Tired already? Firefox has embedded a livestream of the red pandas at the San Francisco Zoo:
Donald Trump’s visit to his polling place this morning went much more seamlessly than a 2004 trip to the ballot box with the now-disgraced Billy Bush, when Trump was turned away from multiple polling locations and berated polling-station workers.
Some more observations about how the mood at polling stations across the US have been coming in.
Arizona
A reader, who wishes to remain anonymous, is driving voters (both Democrats and Republicans) to the polls as there’s poor public transit in Phoenix. He tells us:
Lines are long with waits that started out around 20-30 minutes and are getting longer. I am assisting mostly Latinos and African Americans on the south side of the city and I would call their mood ‘grimly determined.’ Republican-recruited poll watchers are out in force; I was told they number at least 1000 compared to 200 Democrat volunteers. Maricopa County Sheriff and Trump supporter Joe Arpaio has deputies on standby to respond to ‘problems’ at polling stations. As a black man from NYC I can’t help thinking of elections in the South in the bad old days.
North Carolina
Crystal Farmer:
No line to vote this morning at my precinct. It’s a majority black neighborhood, so there was only one guy standing outside offering a blue ballot with the Democrats names. Everyone was happy and smiling!
Illinois:
Will Leffert, Quincy Illinois:
I actually voted in the first week of early voting; I was the youngest person there by a large margin at 33. I’ve been encouraging my friends to do early voting here due to issues with the primary, where we ran out of ballots so early that most people didn’t even get to vote, and attempts to extend primary voting failed. So far today, people haven’t had any major issues voting, and I’ve been keeping tabs with people I’ve met over the years. Polling places have been fairly fast-moving because so many people did early voting, but there is an appreciable number of people who are refusing to vote because of disenfranchisement, even considering the relatively major local candidates on the ballot.
Ohio:
Long lines in Loveland OH
Had about a 45 minute wait, things were very calm and upbeat. Everyone was patient with the pollworkers and very non-partisan. Very glad to see such a calm orderly process!
You can share your pictures, videos and perspectives on the election by clicking on the blue ‘Contribute’ button at the top and bottom of the live blog or by using the form here.
Updated
Like father, like son!
TFW you're an insecure manchild just like your father. pic.twitter.com/3D5VHyNVVw
— Mark Byrne (@markwby) November 8, 2016
Indiana governor Mike Pence, before casting his ballot in his home state, called the experience of voting for himself for vice president as “very humbling.”
“We are so grateful for the support and prayers of people all across the United States for Donald Trump and our firm belief that we can ‘Make America Great Again,’” Pence said.
“I just would encourage every American who believes like we do that America can be stronger at home and abroad, can be more prosperous, that we can chart a future on our highest ideals to take time today to vote and to join us in support Donald Trump as the next president of the United States,” Pence continued.
On Monday, two witnesses for the Democratic Party testified in court that Trump’s claims of a “rigged election” had left them afraid that people armed with assault rifles would be coming to Philadelphia to watch the polls on voting day.
Trump’s comments “sent a chill through me,” Reverend Mark Kelly Tyler, the pastor of the Mother Bethel AME church, testified. He said he was concerned enough that he would not bring his two daughters to the polls, and that he would be “trying to get in and out as soon as possible.”
But in North Philadelphia this morning, at a handful of voting divisions that recorded zero votes for Mitt Romney in 2012, there was not a single vigilante poll watcher standing in outside the voting places - not even the ones that had given Barack Obama 100% of the vote.
Outside Meade Elementary School in Philadelphia’s 47th ward, where one voting division had cast all 173 votes for Obama, there was a booth offering out free smoothies, and three members of the Clinton campaign’s voter protection team, but no one who appeared to be monitoring the polls for Trump.
Roy Jones, 63, said he had not been concerned about voter intimidation at the polls this year. “Oh, no, no,” he said.
But he had found the 2016 election frightening.
“It’s scary when you see someone like Trump getting onto a major party ticket,” he said. “Hillary is someone that you know what she’s about.”
Some US citizens living abroad have been telling us that they’re following the election as closely as they can - regardless of the time difference.
Patty, who lives in Poitiers, France:
I’m at work today and have had at least 30 colleagues come in to my office and ask me how I’m doing today in a very concerned way. They [the French] are watching this election much more closely than the others since I’ve lived here. Whatever you might hear, the French love the USA. In 2008 people went into the streets and lit fireworks at 4am when Obama was elected. I think they will do the same for Hillary, but certainly not for Trump.
Emily, who’s also an expat but living and working in Brussels, is wearing her pantsuit in solidarity:
Representing #Pantsuitnation in #Belgium
I'm an American working at the European Women's Lobby in Brussels. I am in my pantsuit, filled with pride. This is my suffragette moment. I've worked my whole life for this.
Elsewhere around the world, Nahla from the United Arab Emirates says people seem overwhelmingly pro-Clinton:
I am not. I think she’s a corporate Wall Street shill. While I only agree with Trump on illegal immigration, term limits & refugee vetting, I feel he has disrespected bipartisan tradition by not releasing his tax returns. His personal character is very bad as well.”
And in the UK, one person says it feels like it’s their election:
Lots of people on my train home seem to be looking at news coverage or social media regarding the US election. I myself did as much work as possible this morning so I could follow the election. Not sure how my boss will react to the amount of work I haven’t managed to do. Good thing she’s in on Friday. Right now I am really contemplating canceling my driving lesson tonight just to go home and watch the news all night. Forever a Hillary Clinton fan.”
Updated
Check out the Guardian's 'Glass Ceiling Watch Blog'
Today marks the first time in the 240 year history of the United States that voters will have the power to elect a woman as their president. When voters make their choice, they will also close out an election in which women have been at the center of almost every conversation.
Hillary Clinton’s candidacy and the unprecedented election in which she has competed have inspired almost every reaction on the spectrum: jubilation, relief, apathy, disdain, misogyny, and outrage. Today on this blog, we’re going to capture a slice of how American women are reacting as Clinton attempts to make history.
And we want you to join in.
Whether you’re an octogenarian who’s waited her whole life to cast this vote, or someone who doesn’t really see what the big deal is, we want to hear from you. Tweet us @GuardianUS and let us know what it means to you that America might elect its first female president today.
In an election that brought anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric to the forefront of the presidential campaign, voters in Dearborn, Michigan, where one-third of the city’s 96,000 residents are of Arab descent, were expected to turn out in droves.
Outside McDonald Elementary School on the city’s east side, campaign volunteers for local races stood along a tree-lined block of gabled bungalows, passing out literature and flyers to voters. A light drizzle came and went throughout Tuesday morning.
Hakim Mohamed, 36, came to vote at the school for Clinton, alongside his father, Abdo, and 15-year-old son, Zeyad.
“She’s better for the country, for the economy, and, plus, she’s better for the Arab-Americans and all the immigrants,” Mohamed said. In Michigan’s primary election earlier this year, Clinton lost to her opponent, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, who also edged the former US secretary of state in Dearborn by nearly 2,500 votes.
The Republican nominee, Donald Trump, also overwhelmingly won in Dearborn for the March primary.
Still, Mohamed isn’t nervous about Clinton’s chances.
“Not really,” he said, “because I think Clinton’s going to win.”
Abdo Mohamed, 64, echoed his son’s remarks for why he voted for Clinton, chiefly citing the economy. And if Zeyad could vote, he said he would’ve cast a ballot for the Democratic nominee, too.
“It’s better for us, for jobs, for immigrants,” said Hakim Mohamed. “I mean, I think she’s better for the Middle East.”
Moments later, 20-year-old Maha Hamayed exited the school after voting in her first presidential race. Though she said she’s not invested in politics, she felt it was necessary to vote in the election on Tuesday. Her reason was simple:
“Because Donald trump’s an ass,” she said. “It wasn’t that I liked the idea of electing either, it’s just one is worse than the other.”
Updated
Singer Taylor Swift, who has avoided overtly political statements over the course of the 2016 campaign, is in line to vote. Any guesses who she’s supporting?
Samantha Bee enlisted the help of Emmy-winning actor Sarah Paulson to read a selection of Hillary Clinton’s leaked emails in her most recent show.
In Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, the host spoke of the “edifying week-long orgy of media speculation” over the FBI investigating newly discovered emails related to Hillary Clinton’s personal server.
Bee ridiculed the media coverage – and also Donald Trump’s claim that the content of the emails would be “devastating”.
Just a harmless peek.
This picture is everything. pic.twitter.com/m9Blodj90f
— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) November 8, 2016
Glad we voted early today...
Tiffany Trump, the Jan Brady of the Trump clan, was once again moderately slighted by the family’s patriarch during an interview on Fox & Friends this morning.
“I’m very proud of my children and I’m just looking at them right now as an example you show,” Trump said. “But I’m very proud because Don and Eric and Ivanka and, you know, to a lesser extent because she just got out of school, out of college, but Tiffany has also been so terrific.”
A national voter protection hotline has received thousands of calls this morning from citizens who are struggling to cast their vote in what campaigners are calling a “perfect storm” of attempts to disenfranchise minority voters.
A coalition of voting rights groups has just told us that they’re being bombarded by a stream of complaints ranging from intimidation at polling stations to voting machines breaking down, polling stations opening late and mass confusion about where to turn up to cast the ballot.
The most ominous reports are coming in to the hotline from Florida, traditionally one of the most hotly contested swing states in the nation. In Jacksonville, an unauthorized person was reported to be inside a polling place and refusing to leave in a way that voters found menacing. The coalition declined to state the individual’s party affiliation.
There are also reports of intimidating behavior by a group of individuals behaving aggressively outside the polling place at the Hollywood branch library in Broward County. The group approached vehicles in a way that made some would-be voters turn round and drive away before they had a chance to vote.
The National Coalition for Black Civic Participation said that people have been spotted in Florida driving around in pickup trucks waving Confederate flags in a threatening posture.
By 9.30am, the hotline had received 5,500 calls from around the nation. Many were from North Carolina, another hotly fought state, where polling machines were malfunctioning across entire counties.
The election protection coalition has 4,500 legal volunteers at hand today to deal with the calls coming in to its 23 call centers around the country. It sees its role as helping to fill the hole left by the absence of federal observers in many regions for the first time in 50 years, following the US supreme court ruling of Shelby County in 2013 that tore the heart out of the Voting Rights Act.
Since the ruling, 868 polling places have been closed in largely Southern states according to the Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights, which helps to explain the long lines that are being endured by many voters today.
“We are seeing tremendous disruption at the polls,” said the Leadership Conference’s Wade Henderson. “This is maybe the most chaotic election faced by voters of color in the last 50 years – it’s a perfect storm for voter disenfranchisement.”
* You can contact the voter hotline on 866-OUR-VOTE
Updated
Many US readers who’ve gotten in touch seem to be enjoying voting today.
Peter Moore, in New York:
Voting took a long time, but surprisingly the actual act of voting restored a little bit of my faith in the decency of America, that perhaps things will be OK. No one was talking about politics and the main focus of affairs was the bake sale that the Brownies and the library were having. Volunteers were going down the line outside handing out free cups of coffee warm us up. Kids were bouncing around selling home made muffins for a dollar a piece. A couple of cops sat out front eating their egg sandwiches before heading into the station.
Also in New York, Stacey Barton and her daughters, 11 and 8, are hoping to be making history today. She tells us:
The volunteers at the polling station said it had been a record breaking morning for them so far. In spite of that, we were able to walk right in and cast our ballot without waiting. Proud to be a part of the democratic process today!
Making history with my 2 daughters in NY
I took my 11 and 8 year old daughters with me to the voting booth this morning. The volunteers at the poling station said it had been a record breaking morning for them so far. In spite of that, we were able to walk right in and cast our ballot without waiting. Proud to be a part of the democratic process today!
Debbie’s hoping it’ll go the other way in Stockbridge, Georgia:
Go Trump!
I voted in GA.
Go Trump
And just in case it’s all getting too much - this sign at a polling station in a church basement in State College, Pennsylvania:
Sign outside a US polling place that is in a church basement
I thought this sign conveys the hope of most voters that such a close election will turn out their way, and the fear that the country (or world!) might not survive this event.
You can share your pictures, videos and perspectives on the election by clicking on the blue ‘Contribute’ button at the top and bottom of the live blog or by using the form here.
Updated
Polling sites across Florida are seeing a steady streams of voters today as the state that led the nation in early voting prepares to once again become the pivot on which the election could swing.
Long lines formed soon after daybreak at churches, senior centers and libraries in Miami-Dade County and even a giant car dealership in Broward County, pointing to a high election-day turnout to follow the record 6.4 million who have already voted early.
Only the smallest sliver of daylight separated Donald Trump from Hillary Clinton, a virtual dead-heat in Florida’s final polling of a bruising presidential campaign foreshadowing a possible election-day cliffhanger to add to the state’s long history of close finishes.
The Republican nominee held a narrow 0.2 percentage point advantage over Clinton as campaigning drew to a close on Monday for the crucial swing state’s 29 electoral college votes, according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls.
Among the early voters in Florida on Tuesday was Eddie Cruz, a 39-year-old law enforcement officer, who brought his daughter Grace, eight, to the polls in Coral Springs on her day off from school “as an education”.
“Her and I will be having a conversation after,” said Cruz, who wouldn’t reveal who he voted for but said it was “for the lesser of two evils” after fact-checking the candidates.
Angela Merkel: Russian cyber-attacks could influence German election
Angela Merkel has said Russia could try to influence Germany’s general elections next year through cyber-attacks or disinformation campaigns, after Washington accused the Kremlin of similar meddling in the US vote.
“We are already, even now, having to deal with information out of Russia or with internet attacks that are of Russian origin or with news which sows false information,” the German chancellor said at a press conference alongside the Norwegian prime minister, Erna Solberg, on Tuesday. Dealing with that was already “a daily task”, she told reporters in Berlin. “So it may be that this could also play a role during the election campaign.”
The comments came in response to a question about whether Germany could experience the type of cyber-attacks that have plagued the White House race, notably targeting Hillary Clinton’s Democratic party.
Washington formally accused the Russian government last month of trying to “interfere” in the election by hacking US political institutions, charges the Kremlin has repeatedly dismissed.
Germany’s domestic secret service accused Russia earlier this year of a series of international cyber-spying and sabotage attacks, including a case in which the German lower house of parliament was targeted last year.
Germans are scheduled to go to the polls in September 2017. Merkel has yet to announce her candidacy but is widely expected to run for a fourth term.
Updated
Hillary Clinton and her husband, the former president Bill Clinton, and singer Jon Bon Jovi all took part in the #MannequinChallenge on election day. The footage, posted on Clinton’s official Twitter page, shows Clinton and her staff standing still like mannequins on the Clinton campaign plane.
Video of Donald Trump voting in New York City this morning:
Updated
Donald Trump, when asked who he voted for:
Tough decision.
Tough town.
Here's a video of @realDonaldTrump getting booed on his way to vote for himself... pic.twitter.com/l0zWQrpFS9
— Harrison Greenbaum (@harrisoncomedy) November 8, 2016
People from around the world are telling us they’re on tenterhooks watching this election from afar.
Chiel in the Netherlands says it feels like New Year’s Eve:
I loved the excitement of getting to stay up late and count down to a new age. Here I can do the same thing, only this time it feels like we’re counting down the Doomsday clock and it is up to people on the other side of the globe to stop it. This may or may not be the most important US election in history so far, but it is definitely the most terrifying US election in history, period.
In Germany, Katharina is in between anxious and positively optimistic:
As a woman of 31 years, I have admired Hillary Clinton for many, many years and was lucky to see her live in Berlin in 2014, when she introduced her book ‘Hard Choices’. She is an inspiration to many women of my generation. I hope and pray that Americans do the right thing and elect a progressive, responsible leader today. I refuse to think that they won’t.
Mark from Australia says he’s hedging his bets:
I’m hopeful that Hillary will get in and fearful of what will occur if Trump loses,. If Trump wins, perhaps some good, some changes will come, as Obama has been locked up with no policy moving through. The establishment will not have the sway, though regretfully, the establishment I do not like, the NRA, will seem to have more power. We Australians like a bit of excitement, so bring it on.
And in the UK, some children at St. George’s Catholic School in north-west London held their own ballot for the next US president. It was close. (Not really):
You can share your pictures, videos and perspectives on the election by clicking on the blue ‘Contribute’ button at the top and bottom of the live blog or by using the form here. We’ll feature a selection of responses in our live coverage.
Updated
Donald Trump, clad in his uniform blue suit and a bright blue tie, cast his vote at the Midtown Manhattan precinct where he is registered, along with wife Melania Trump. There was a smattering of boos outside PS 59, where he cast his ballot, and one or two cheers.
After donating a few bills to a bake sale inside the school where his polling place is located, Trump was asked what his campaign has heard about the early returns from battleground states.
“Very good - everything’s very good,” Trump said. “It’s just very good, generally speaking.”
Updated
From Tim Miller, Jeb Bush’s former communications chief:
Final prediction.
— Tim Miller (@Timodc) November 8, 2016
Trump gets schlonged. https://t.co/dMuQR6PHx5 pic.twitter.com/slqgU3AB9K
Your election night survival guide: what to expect as polls close
To become the 45th president of the United States, Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump has to win 270 electoral college votes. The candidates have spent what feels like 100 years locked in mortal combat, but in the next few hours there will finally be a victor. (Well, probably. If there’s a 269-vote tie, or a mandatory recount, prepare for constitutional chaos.)
So remind me how the electoral college works again?
Each state is assigned a certain number of electoral votes, ultimately based on its population. California has the most, with 55. Seven states – Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming – have just three electoral votes. Washington DC gets three too.
While there are 50 states in the US, most of these are “safely” Republican or Democrat. They vote the same way every time going back at least six elections. So the presidential election boils down to just a handful of “swing states” – the 10 or 11 states that have a recent history of selecting both Republicans and Democrats.
This is why voters in places such as Ohio, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, Virginia, Nevada, Colorado and New Hampshire are subjected to a barrage of television advertising and campaign stops. It’s also why you have not seen Clinton and Trump holding rallies in Louisiana (safely Republican) or Washington (safely Democratic).
The shortest newspaper editorial of the 2016 presidential campaign:
Her. Not Him. Enough said.
On Election Day, the Miami Herald's Editorial Page makes a bold statement: ENOUGH SAID. pic.twitter.com/RrUKzCgdDx
— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) November 8, 2016
I just ran into Hope Hicks, Donald Trump’s spokeswoman, in Trump Tower on 5th Avenue. She was buying a coffee.
I asked her how Trump was doing.
“He’s great!” she said. She then started to walk away very quickly and did not stop to answer any more questions.
I'm sure we shouldn't read too much into this but there is a row of 10 Sanitation Department trucks outside Trump Towe pic.twitter.com/VKBiirf6LG
— Adam Gabbatt (@adamgabbatt) November 8, 2016
Some more readers have gotten in touch to tell us about what the mood’s like at the polls today.
Jeremiah Tyson in Noblesville, Indiana:
There were lines out the door starting at 6 AM when the polls opened. I waited about two and a half hours to vote, but the time passed quickly with wonderful conversation and, great energy and mood! Surprisingly the mood is exceptionally positive! It could be that people are excited to see this race come to a close, but I think it’s because people are excited to exercise their right as Americans. I voted for America today.
Nancy Stephenson in Philadelphia:
Long line here in Philadelphia as I and others wait calmly to cast out ballots for the first female president of the US. An air of quiet determination to vote NO to hatred and fear and divisiveness.
Ethan M tells us:
The air is calm. Early in Manchester New Hampshire lines are short, steady, and quiet.”
Gregorio Pedroza has been getting compliments on this hat:
Robert in California:
Around me there is general disgruntlement, disgust and apathy - in the 4-block square area around my suburban home I have seen only ONE political sign in anyone’s yard (it is for Trump/Pence), and virtually no bumperstickers. The election will be “over”, anyway, before many of us even vote in this state, especially with the media push to promote Hillary’s victories as quickly as possible.”
Please share your views by clicking on the blue “Contribute” button at the top of this article or via our form.
Updated
Queuing in midtown Manhattan, where Donald Trump is set to vote, Travis Lopes, 30, a sales director dressed as Uncle Sam, said: “I’m celebrating America. Every election is our chance to impact the future and choose our leader. There are a lot of nations that can’t.”
Lopes intends to vote for Hillary Clinton. “She is a corrupt politician but politicians are by definition corrupt. It’s like saying, ‘He’s a philandering pro athlete’. Everyone is corrupt, everyone lies, but not everyone is a misogynist, not everyone is a bully.”
“Trump doesn’t respect women as much as I do. He’s not the type of man I’d probably want in charge of our country.”
Two topless women protesters have been arrested at Donald Trump’s Midtown voting precinct this morning.
The two women, who had words written in black marker across their chests and backs, appeared to be chanting “grab your balls” as they were dragged out of the gymnasium on East 56th Street.
More footage of the topless protest against Trump at my polling station. Two women arrested. #Election2016 pic.twitter.com/buWnurT0Ip
— Sharon Clott Kanter (@sharonclott) November 8, 2016
The Republican has not yet cast his vote at the site yet, but is reportedly on his way.
On the day when the United States might elect its first female president, hundreds of voters are visiting the grave of iconic suffragette Susan B. Anthony in Rochester, New York, to place their “I Voted” stickers on her grave marker:
The 250 person line in Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester New York to pay their respects at Susan B Anthony's grave pic.twitter.com/Zv1WyTQyNl
— Sarah Maslin Nir (@SarahMaslinNir) November 8, 2016
Updated
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Updated
Eric Trump, the middle son of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, has officially voted for his father in New York today.
It is an incredible honor to vote for my father! He will do such a great job for the U.S.A! #MakeAmericaGreatAgain 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Qbq9bGSzbZ
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) November 8, 2016
Unfortunately for Trump, posting pictures of ballots is illegal in New York.
Stevie Wonder: Asking Donald Trump to be president is like asking me to drive
In an interview with Philly.com, Motown legend Stevie Wonder declared his intentions on this election day by asserting that asking Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to serve as president makes about as much sense as asking Wonder himself to drive a car.
“As much as you have great love for me and you think I’m funny and la la la la la and I make you laugh and all that, if you had an emergency situation and needed to go to the hospital, and you had to get there right away, would you want me driving your car?” Wonder asked the interviewer.
“No,” the reporter responded. “You wouldn’t be on top of my list.”
“Exactly!” Wonder continued. “Because I’m not an experienced driver, right? So my belief is that Hillary is an experienced person of the government, and she has spent 30 years with a commitment. Not to mention that her parents taught her in a kinder way, to have respect and love for all people. That’s the person I want to govern, to be the leader of this nation.”
Updated
Speaking on Fox & Friends by phone this morning - as is his custom - Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump lashed out at pollsters who show him narrowly but consistently behind Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, alleging that most polls “just put out phony numbers”:
I do think this, after the debates, I think my numbers really started to go up well. And then I did a series over the last two weeks, only of you know, really important speeches I think. 20,000, 25,000 people, 31,000 people were showing up to these speeches.”
That number is incorrect – the largest rally Trump has ever held was in Mobile, Alabama, in August 2015, attended by 30,000 people.
Trump continued:
You saw yesterday, you saw the kind of crowds we’re getting. I said something’s happening here. Something incredible is happening here. And tell you the enthusiasm and the love in those rooms, in those arenas, they’re really arenas, I mean in New Hampshire last night it was a tremendous arena, beautiful arena. And same thing, we had a big convention center last night in Michigan. But they’re packed. I mean we have thousands of people.”
Updated
Longtime Donald Trump acolyte Chris Christie, fresh from a blistering week in state politics, apparently cast his vote for the Republican presidential nominee under cover of darkness this morning, a break from tradition for the boisterous and media-hungry New Jersey governor.
According to NJ.com, Christie cast his vote at 6.06am in Mendham, New Jersey, a break in custom for a man who has notified press about his voting plans beforehand for the last seven years.
“I always vote in the morning,” Christie responded when asked about his early-bird voting, without breaking his stride.
A photograph taken outside of the voting precinct depicts a weary Christie, wearing an expression with which many of us might sympathize:
Best headline of the campaign. pic.twitter.com/w5vqeQMKrw
— Scott Bixby (@scottbix) November 8, 2016
Updated
Donald Trump on the stakes of the election this morning:
Let me tell you if I don’t win, I will consider it a tremendous waste of time, energy and money.
Updated
Solid brand trolling:
🍊 ⛔️✈️️ #USElections pic.twitter.com/yBDVO2w3gb
— Royal Jordanian (@RoyalJordanian) November 8, 2016
The primaries, the debates, the allegations, the assertions, the hope and the despair – writer Paul Owen and illustrator Katie Fricas tell the story of the 2016 US election:
The Guardian’s Sabrina Siddiqui is representing US media in Hillary Clinton’s traveling press pool today, and will be filing up-to-the-second reports on election day:
Hillary Clinton responded to a question from CNN’s Dan Merica after greeting supporters outside, who asked her what it felt like to vote for herself for president.
“It is the most humbling feeling, Dan, because I know how much responsibility goes with this and so many people are counting on the outcome of this election, what it means for our country and I will do the very best I can if I’m fortunate enough to win today.”
Merica then asked Bill Clinton how it feels to be a political spouse, to which the former president responded: “It has felt that way for several years now and good. I have had 15 years of practice.”
Amy Chozick of the NYT asked Clinton if she thought about her mother. “Oh, I did,” Clinton responded with a smile.
Clinton entered the polling site at the Douglas G. Grafflin Elementary School at 8:00 a.m., accompanied by President Bill Clinton, to cheers from a crowd of a few dozen voters inside. Huma Abedin was also with her.
Clinton was swarmed upon arrival by the crowd, most of whom promptly dropped their places in line to instead snap photos of the Clintons.
“Good luck!” a few of them told Clinton.
A polling worker trying to keep the peace asked the eager fans: “Is anyone actually here to vote?”
After picking up their ballots, the Clintons made their way to one of two partitioned tables, each with four corners to fill out the ballot in privacy. The polling worker urged the crowd, still encasing the Clintons, to give them space and respect their privacy.
Pool was at a distance and could not make out any specific interactions, but Clinton mostly thanked those wishing her luck and expressing their support.
The Clintons worked the rope line of supporters awaiting them outside for about five minutes before departing at 8:19 a.m. They were met with chants of “I believe that she will win!” and “Hillary!”
A couple of fans belted out “Huma!!” several times at Abedin, who was awaiting by a parked SUV. She smiled and offered a wave.
The polling station had been bustling for about one hour prior to her arrival with voters casting their ballots, many of whom were families with young children. Your pooler spotted one family with a blue Clinton-Kaine sign, which was tucked away between papers due to restrictions on displaying campaign paraphernalia at polling places.
Updated
For those annoyed with mentions of Hillary Clinton’s attire when she voted, we can only point to Tim Kaine’s jacket this morning, which is on fleek:
I wanted to be first at my polling place, but 99-year-old Minerva Turpin beat me to it. Looks like I need to get used to being number two! pic.twitter.com/9YvWOjuKUe
— Senator Tim Kaine (@timkaine) November 8, 2016
Paying tribute to suffragettes, many voters are turning up to their polling stations wearing white. Tweeters are using the hashtag #WearWhiteToVote in support of Clinton.
Voted for my first female president! #WearWhiteToVote #imwithher pic.twitter.com/lw7wGT2faE
— Anne M Leone (@annemleone) November 8, 2016
The Guardian’s Sabrina Siddiqui, who is trailing Clinton all day as the US media’s designated pool reporter, captures the moment she casts her vote:
Reports of voting machine issues in Michigan
Voters in Michigan are reporting faults with the optical scan voting system which is used to scan ballot papers.
One woman with a voter ID card was turned away after her name could not be found in the database, according to a Facebook post by one voter.
Simmons writes in the comments of his post:
“The card swiper couldn’t read licenses. The person running it didn’t know how to use it. A woman with her voter ID card couldn’t be found in the database.”
Thanks to reporter Jessica Smith
Updated
Readers in the US have been getting in touch with us about how they’re feeling as they go to the polls.
Celticwoman69 has encountered no lines as well as helpful Democratic volunteers in Norwalk, Connecticut:
Easy and no lines
There was a bigger turn out than normal at 7:45am in Norwalk, CT. A Democratic Party volunteer was standing outside the building handing out sample ballots marked up with the Democratic vote. Very helpful.
James from New York says he is optimistic about the result. “On this freezing cold sunny morning I hope that the sleaze bag Donald will be roundly defeated by the first woman president Hillary Clinton, and that the Dems will take control of congress.”
Dennis, on the other hand, who is also from from New York, is not keen on either of the candidates. “I live in a Republican stronghold and am used to seeing people wearing ‘Make America Great Again’ hats,” he said.
“I don’t know what they see in Trump, but I see a man who should never lead anything, no less the United States. Don’t get me wrong, I am also not for Clinton. She has also proven to be unfit for office. When I vote today I will leave the section which asks me to chose the next president blank. I never liked kool-aid in any flavor.”
We’d like to find out what the mood’s like where you are? Whether you’re in the US or watching from a distance: what are your final thoughts? You can share your pictures, videos and perspectives by clicking on the blue ‘Contribute’ button at the top and bottom of the live blog or by using the form here. We’ll feature a selection of responses in our live coverage.
Updated
Guardian live blogger Scott Bixby will be taking over later this morning, but he had some business to attend to first.
The deed is done! #VotingInNYC pic.twitter.com/DOXeIuQXsE
— Scott Bixby (@scottbix) November 8, 2016
Dad jokes from Senator Tim Kaine, Clinton’s veep pick, who voted in Richmond, Virginia just after 6am this morning.
I wanted to be first at my polling place, but 99-year-old Minerva Turpin beat me to it. Looks like I need to get used to being number two! pic.twitter.com/9YvWOjuKUe
— Senator Tim Kaine (@timkaine) November 8, 2016
Should be noted: voting for women was illegal when Minerva Turpin was born. It didn’t pass until 1920.
Clinton casts her vote in NY
Hillary Clinton and husband Bill voted at 8am at a local elementary school near their home in Chappaqua, New York. The Democratic nominee told reporters the event was “humbling”.
There were cheers as the former secretary of state entered the polling station. Clinton shook hands and hugged voters, but speaking to media afterwards she was more subdued than at her celebrity-filled rallies last night.
“It’s a humbling feeling … because I know how how much responsibility goes with this,” said Clinton.
“So many people are counting on the outcome of this election, what it means for our country and I’ll do the very best I can if I’m fortunate enough to win today.”
Bill Clinton was quizzed about how it felt to be a political spouse.
“It’s been that way for several years now, and good,” replied the former president. “I’ve had 15 years of practice,” he quipped, laughing as he walked away.
Updated
Hillary Clinton was feeling the love.
“I love you!” a gaggle of young girls yelled in unison as she spoke at an outdoor rally in Pittsburgh, the first stop of the last swing of her 2016 campaign.
It is not that voters had not occasionally professed their love for Clinton during her 575 days on the campaign trail. They had. But on Monday — the final day of the long slog — she looked as if she finally believed them.
Then, she did something she rarely does. She paused. She cocked her head to the right to look at the girls. And, abandoning the safety of her Teleprompter, she said: “I love you all, too.”
Callout: tell us how you feel about the election
What the mood’s like where you are?
Whether you’re in the US or watching from a distance: what are your thoughts?
You can share your pictures, videos and perspectives by clicking on the blue “contribute” button at the top and bottom of the liveblog or by using the form here.
We’ll feature a selection of responses in our live coverage.
Updated
Guardian reporter Luis Miguel Echegaray has filmed the long lines at polling booths in Yorkville in upper Manhattan.
This is the line by my neighborhood on Yorkville. I had to stop filming cause I was running out. Line was two blocks long. #ElectionDay pic.twitter.com/oMwgM0kVeM
— LuisMiguelEchegaray (@lmechegaray) November 8, 2016
Updated
Clinton is shaking hands with voters.
After yesterday’s red power suit, she is wearing a cream and taupe leather blazer.
Crowds are cramming around her with cellphones taking photos as she casts her ballot.
Updated
Hillary Clinton and husband Bill have just turned up to their local voting booth in Chappaqua, New York.
Voters cheered as they arrived. She waved but did not speak to media.
Updated
In Florida, 6.4 million early voters
In Florida, the biggest swing state in the country, 50% of the state’s 13 million voters have already voted.
So far, 36% more of the state’s Hispanics than voted in the entire 2012 election have cast their ballot.
Reporter Richard Luscombe is reporting live for the Guardian, talking to voters at the polls at Coral Springs in Florida.
Early voters at Mullins Park, Coral Springs, FL pic.twitter.com/s341TLKLLx
— Richard Luscombe (@richlusc) November 8, 2016
Hispanic voter Eddie Cruz, 39, with daughter Grace, 8, won't reveal his choice but said it wasn't an easy decision #ElectionDay pic.twitter.com/ngE3Apd86n
— Richard Luscombe (@richlusc) November 8, 2016
Warehouse manager Mike Schwartz 23 was first to vote in Coral Springs FL. Hopes for nation to heal after #electionday pic.twitter.com/pidzrrhWtl
— Richard Luscombe (@richlusc) November 8, 2016
Updated
Here is a quick look at how website front pages are covering the election this morning.
A campaign that has divided the country seems also to have exhausted headline writers.
From Politico:
From Fox News:
Updated
Polls opened in Florida, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and part of Tennessee 30 mins ago.
Seventeen states in total now open and voting.
Polls are open in GA. Proud to cast my ballot. Longest line ever seen in Peachtree Corners! @jamiedupree pic.twitter.com/YrD7r836rz
— Jason Huggins (@Hugdog18) November 8, 2016
Asked if he would regret running if he doesn’t win, Trump says others have told him that he has started a political movement and that he should be proud of that. However, he adds: “I will consider it a waste of time, energy and money.”
Trump say he has spent over $100m of his own money on the campaign. The latest election filings show a figure nearer $66m.
Fox News asks Trump for his final message to voters. He replies:
We have a great, great country, we have tremendous potential. Go out, and vote.
Updated
Trump is still offended by Jay Z’s “language” during his concert for Hillary Clinton.
“In the case of Jay Z, the language he used was terrible. The language was unbelievable that Jay Z and Beyonce used, a lot of people left because of the language,” Trump tells Fox News.
Buzzfeed reported yesterday that there was no indication people left because they were upset.
Clinton was supposed to be voting at 7am at her nearby elementary school but is running late (no surprise, since she got off a plane from North Carolina at 3.30am).
Updated
Fox News reporters ask Trump which states he’s paying close attention to today.
“I’m doing very well in North Carolina, very very well in Florida,” says Trump. Both of those states are critical for Trump to win the presidency.
“We’re doing very well in New Hampshire, Ohio is incredible, just a great place. We’re going to win Iowa. We’ve had such great experience there. We’re going to win Iowa, Ohio, New Hampshire. Who knows what happens ultimately, but we’re going to win a lot of states.”
He also mentions Michigan and Wisconsin as possible states that he could win. Both have large numbers of white, working-class voters.
“Car production has been ripped out of that state and gone to Mexico, I think we’re going to really do well in Michigan. We’re getting very good reports out of Wisconsin,” says Trump.
Updated
“I see so many hopes and so many dreams that didn’t happen that could have happened with proper leadership,” says Trump on Fox News.
“People are hurting, veterans are hurting … they’ve been hurt so badly, being taken care of so badly. It’s very sad. At the same time, our country has such tremendous potential.”
Updated
Trump speaks with Fox News on election morning
“I’ve decided to vote for Trump,” jokes the Republican candidate on Fox News’ Fox and Friends this morning.
“It’s very exciting. I’ve spoken to you folks a lot during very successful primaries … I’m a little bit superstitious so when you said please call, I called,” he says.
He’s asked if he has changed during the campaign.
It’s been an amazing process, about 17 or 18 months since I came up with it … it’s been a beautiful process, the people of this country are incredible, I’ve met the people at every level and they are amazing. People say what have you learned? That’s what I’ve learned: the people are amazing.”
Updated
In need of a catch up? Here is a taste of what’s been going on in the past 24 hours:
- The candidates made their final pitches on a frantic last day of campaigning
- Hillary Clinton was in Philadelphia for a star-studded rally
- Madonna performed at a surprise rally for the Democratic candidate in New York
- Donald Trump addressed a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire
- Fox News wrongly linked a Republican anti-Trump protester to voter fraud
Plus some questions answered:
Polls now open in North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia!
Ohio governor, and former Republican candidate, John Kasich, is encouraging people to get out and vote.
It's Election Day, Ohio! Polls are open 6:30AM - 7:30PM - Find your polling location here: https://t.co/ZJy7IKFEBj
— John Kasich (@JohnKasich) November 8, 2016
Obama and Springsteen rally for Clinton in Philadelphia
Standing in front of the building where the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, the nation’s first black president urged American citizens to send the first woman to the White House in their 240-year history.
“I’m asking you to vote for this woman, this mother, this grandmother, to be the next president of the United States,” Barack Obama said, introducing Hillary Clinton to tens of thousands of people who braved a chilly Monday night in Philadelphia.
Joining him were the first lady, Michelle Obama, former president Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, a formidable show of force for one of Clinton’s final acts as Democratic candidate. Music legends Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi served as warmup acts.
It was the largest event of Clinton’s 18-month campaign, drawing 33,000 people to the square. The city’s legacy, and the hope of creating history once more, dominated the evening’s remarks.
“Philadelphia, in this place where our founders forged the documents of freedom, in this place where they gave us the tools to perfect our union, if you share my faith then I ask you to vote,” Obama said.
His voice reverberated to the surrounding streets from speakers positioned for the thousands who could not gain entry but looked on from outside. All told, an estimated 40,000 had descended upon the area hoping to bear witness to the climax of a grueling election cycle.
The mood fluctuated from euphoric to meditative, at times urgent and emotional at the next turn.
Springsteen, whose music has long been inspired by the working class, soothed the crowd with performances of Thunder Road and Dancing in the Dark. Between songs, the singer declared that the choice before them “couldn’t be more clear”.
“Let’s all do our part so we can look back on 2016 and say we stood with Hillary Clinton on the right side of history,” Springsteen said.
Characterizing Trump as “a man whose vision is limited to little beyond himself”, Springsteen said the Republican nominee held a “profound lack of decency that would allow him to prioritize his own interests and ego before American democracy itself”.
“Tomorrow those ideas and that campaign are going down.”
Read the rest here.
Updated
On 56th St in Manhattan, voters were lining up in the dark down the block at Donald Trump’s local polling station.
Wow 80+ voters lined up early to cast their ballots #ElectionDay #PS59 #Manhattan where @realDonaldTrump will be voting also #NBC4NY pic.twitter.com/K8JUf1kv8h
— Katherine Creag (@katcreag4NY) November 8, 2016
Latest election polls
Where are the polls as the US begins election day?
FiveThirtyEight gives Clinton a 70.9% chance of winning:
ur latest polls-only forecast gives Clinton a 71% chance to win the presidency: https://t.co/2uB2oq8m9u pic.twitter.com/2dwG069PPf
— FiveThirtyEight (@FiveThirtyEight) November 8, 2016
The Reuters/Ipsos state of the nation study puts Clinton on a 90% likelihood of victory.
Votes-wise, the New York Times sees Clinton on 46% and Trump on 42.9%.
Real Clear Politics four-way national average – that is, including fringe candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein – also puts Clinton ahead, but by only 2.2 percentage points.
A BBC poll of polls gives her a slightly more comfortable cushion of 48% v 44%.
As ever, read Mona Chalabi on the polls and what they are/aren’t telling you:
Polls are open along the east coast and photos of people waiting in lines are already appearing (although many people line up before the polls even open).
Fairly short line to vote in Jersey City this morning at 6am sharp. pic.twitter.com/ubXeJ520fz
— Carrie Brown (@Brizzyc) November 8, 2016
Downtown Brooklyn, 5:40am. Line has more than quadrupled since. #vote pic.twitter.com/kwfosoGoTx
— Katherine Nelson (@katherinen) November 8, 2016
6am. Line is a block and a half long. pic.twitter.com/EaEw8V2pze
— Steve Kovach (@stevekovach) November 8, 2016
If you’re at the polls today and encounter incredibly long lines or any other issue, please let us know.
Tim Kaine votes in Virginia
Clinton’s VP pick, Senator Tim Kaine, has just cast his vote, along with his wife, former Secretary of Education for Virginia, Anne Holton.
No prizes for guessing who got his vote.
Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine and his wife Anne Holton cast their ballots in Richmond, Virginia https://t.co/U9FQGec4ud pic.twitter.com/dBvuNQlcsQ
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) November 8, 2016
Reporters on the Trump plane had to make do with a cardboard cutout of Trump for their final group pic (Trump’s plane landed at a different airport), posted at 3.47am.
We made it!!! pic.twitter.com/hihN7YSPWm
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) November 8, 2016
It begins: polls open in seven states
Ding ding ding ding, it’s 6am ET and polls are open.
Voting has now begun in New York, Connecticut, part of Indiana, part of Kentucky, Maine, New Jersey and Virginia.
Vermont opened at 5am.
North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia polling booths open at 6.30am.
Voting in Florida, Delaware, Georgia, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, new Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, part of Tennessee will start at 7am.
Polling hours depend on the state - here in New York, polls close at 9pm - so check the time for your state.
Find your nearest polling booth here.
If you see anything interesting at your polling booth while voting today, tweet at me @ambiej or email amber.jamieson@theguardian.com
Murdoch tabloid the New York Post (my alma mater) endorsed Donald Trump in the primary, but has stayed neutral for the general election.
Today's front page: With the race still too close to call, Election Day is finally here https://t.co/3FbdBXDeTl pic.twitter.com/6NRep0Qu1R
— New York Post (@nypost) November 8, 2016
An exclusive report from Paul Lewis and Tom Silverstone in Reno and Nicky Woolf in San Francisco.
Fox News has falsely implicated the protester who was beaten up at a Donald Trump rally in a case of voter fraud involving absentee ballots issued in the name of his “dead” grandmother.
Austyn Crites, a Republican protester who was attacked at a Trump rally in Nevada, was stunned to see a TV report associating him with fraudulent voting connected to a grandmother Fox News claimed died in 2002.
However, the Guardian met Wilda Austin, 90, in her living room in suburban Reno late on Monday.
Wilda Austin was alive and well, although somewhat baffled that she was having to prove her identity to correct a TV broadcast that reported that she died 14 years ago.
“Please correct the record,” she said, arms crossed.
She declined to appear on camera, in part because the family has been subjected to a torrent of abuse and threats since Crites, 33, an inventor, was ejected from the Trump rally for holding a sign that read “Republican’s against Trump.”
He was punched, kicked, wrestled to the ground and held in a chokehold by Trump supporters at the rally. The incident led to a security scare after someone in the crowd shouted that he was armed, sparking panic through the auditorium and prompting security service agents to rush the nominee from the stage.
The account Crites gave of his experience, relayed to the Guardian’s Anywhere But Washington film series, went viral over the weekend, and has been viewed more than 7.5m times.
Read the rest here.
As mentioned, three tiny towns in New Hampshire allow midnight voting - and report their results shortly afterwards. They revel in their “first in the nation” election day status.
Dixville Notch
- Hillary Clinton: 4 votes
- Donald Trump: 2 votes
- Gary Johnson: 1 vote
- Mitt Romney (write-in): 1 vote
Millsfield
- Trump: 16
- Clinton: 4
- Bernie Sanders (write-in): 1
Hart’s Location
- Clinton: 17
- Trump: 14
- Johnson: 3
- Sanders (write-in): 2
- John Kasich/Sanders (write-in): 1
Remember these numbers are too small to mean anything statistically.
Clinton holds midnight rally with Bon Jovi and Lady Gaga
It was a long night for Hillary Clinton, who held a final midnight rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, joined by Lady Gaga and Jon Bon Jovi.
Clinton took to the stage at Reynolds Coliseum, at North Carolina State University, around 1am.
There it is: Hillary Clinton, joined by Bill and Chelsea, takes the stage for the final rally of her campaign in Raleigh, NC pic.twitter.com/KxKZ8XlWb0
— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) November 8, 2016
In her final speech, Clinton focused on a message that she’s repeated lots in the last week of campaigning: that even if you don’t vote for her, she’ll back you.
“I want to be president for all Americans, not just some. Not just the people that support me,” said Clinton.
“I believe it’s the most important election of our lifetime,” she said. “It’s not just my name or Donald Trump’s name on the ballot, it’s the kind of country you want.”
Bon Jovi and Lady Gaga performed a Living on a Prayer duet.
Clinton flew home to New York after the event. A crowd gathered at nearby Westchester Airport to welcome her back on her final night, at 3:30am (this is a Monday night remember!).
Hillary Clinton greeted by a few hundred supporters upon arrival in Westchester after final day of campaign pic.twitter.com/LBpqAfsLOu
— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) November 8, 2016
Hello and welcome to our live-wire coverage of the 2016 race for the White House. It’s election day, but we’ll resist the temptation to wax dramatic. No reflections on the historical import of a day that could see the election of the first woman US president, or of Donald Trump. No musing about just how long these last 18 months have sometimes felt. No solicitations after your personal health, mental and physical, at this, the (apparent) end of our collective slog through a muddy field of base discourse, objectionable behavior and trampled bunting.
There were some happy moments in there! We think. And we will recall them just as soon as the votes are counted. Which brings us to the main business of the day: bringing you the election results, as soon as they come in, from Maine to Alaska. That’s the purpose of today’s blog, and that’s what you can expect as the polls begin to close, initial returns come back, state results are declared and the identity of the 45th president of the United States is revealed.
When will we know who was elected president? In 2000, they didn’t know until December. But that was exceptional. With any luck tonight, we’ll know the identity of the next president before the clock ticks into Wednesday on the east coast. The first polls opened in New Hampshire at midnight - with three tiny towns allowing midnight voting and immediate results.
Out of the 64 ballots cast in those three counties, Trump nabbed 32 votes, Clinton got 25 and three went to Libertarian Gary Johnson.
The last polls, in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, aren’t due to close until 1am ET. We expect the results action to be concentrated between 6pm ET and 11pm ET.
Here’s a graphic illustrating poll closing times across the country. Here’s a list of when each state declared its result in 2012, to the minute. And here’s a look at when victory and concession speeches have been delivered in years past:
No idea how late we'll have to work Tuesday night, but here's when past victory/concession speeches have started. #ElectionNight pic.twitter.com/Mem7aNY9nT
— Jeremy Art (@cspanJeremy) November 2, 2016
In these hours long before those speeches, we’ll be tracking action at the polls, where multiple stories have emerged in the last week that could inform the final result. Restrictions on voting hours and the number of voting sites have created long lines outside polling places from North Carolina to Florida to Ohio to California. In some cases voters have been denied a ballot. The justice department announced Monday that it planned to deploy in 28 states to ensure voting rights were respected, after Trump’s claims that the vote would be rigged and exhortation to supporters to keep a vigilant eye in “certain areas”.
We’ll also have the chance to gauge whether turnout appears to be up or down in a way that bodes well for either candidate. Most of all, though, we’ll be watching the pageantry of democracy unfold, as about 80 million people make time in their days – for some five minutes, for others five (or ten) hours – to cast their votes for whomsoever they choose.
Thanks for reading, and please join us in the comments!
